General charging method

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a general charging method applicable to a charging system in the communication field, comprising steps of establishing a charging strategy and performing the charging based upon the charging strategy. The charging strategy comprises a plurality of priorities each of which comprises a plurality of periods of time, and each of the periods of time corresponds to a type of rate segmentation and is provided a plurality of rate segments in each of which there are a plurality of rates. The step of performing the charging comprises steps of: searching for the highest priority in the charging strategy; searching for a corresponding period of time in the priority based upon the time a subscriber uses a service, and if found, performing the charging based upon the rate segments in the period of time; when the charging has been completed or the priorities have been searched through, and if there is any usage quantity that can&#39;t be charged, recording it and terminating the charging. With such a structure of general charging strategy, the present invention can satisfy various charging demands and provide generality and adequate expansibility. Also, the present invention enables subscribers to configure different charging methods as needed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the communication field, particularlyto a charging method in the communication field.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the highly developed information society, communication operatorsprovide subscribers with various information services, such as thetelephone service, the Internet-access service, the short-messageservice, as well as different charging methods.

Typical charging methods include but not limited to the following:

1. Duration-based charging: that is, the charging is based upon the timethat the subscriber spends on using the service, such as the telephoneservice. One charging method is that during the use of the service, thecharge per unit time is identical, and the charge of the session serviceat a time is calculated based upon the duration. Another charging methodis that the entire use procedure is charged based upon time intervals,and the charge per unit time for each of the time intervals isdifferent, for example, 0.2 yuan/minute is for the first 3 minutes and0.3 yuan/minute is for more than 3 minutes, then the charging isperformed based upon the relationships between the duration and the timeintervals and using the different charges per unit time. For example,the charging method is 0.2 yuan/minute for 0-3 minutes and 0.1yuan/minute for more than 3 minutes. If the duration at a time is 15minutes, then the charge is 3*0.2+12*0.1=1.8 yuan.

2. Traffic-based charging: it is mainly used for the Internet-accessservice, and the charging is based upon the quantity of data transferredduring the service used by the subscriber. One charging method is thatduring the service use, the charge per unit traffic is identical, andthe charge of the service is calculated based upon the total traffic.Another charging method is to charge based upon traffic segments for theservice use, and the charge per unit traffic is different in each of thetraffic segments, for example, 0.2 yuan/KB is for the first 1 MB and 0.1yuan/KB is for more than 1 MB, and then the total charge is calculatedbased upon the relationships between the total traffic used by thesubscriber and the traffic segments and using the different charges perunit traffic. For example, the charging method is 0.2 yuan/KB for 0-1 MBand 0.1 yuan/KB for more than 1 MB. If 1.5 MB is used once, then thecharge is 1024*0.2+0.5*1024*0.1=256 yuan.

3. Number-of-times-based charging: the short message service and thecall transfer service are mostly used at present, that is, the charge ofthe service used each time is determined based upon the number of timesthat service is used.

4. Accumulative charging: the charging is based upon the total quantityof the accumulative duration, traffic or number of times for a certainservice used by the subscriber, wherein the unit charge before the totalquantity reaches the prescribed accumulative quantity is different fromthat after the total quantity reaches the prescribed accumulativequantity. For example, in the Internet-access service, 1.0 yuan/hour isfor no more than 100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration, and 0.5yuan/hour is for more than 100-hour accumulative Internet-accessduration. For example, if the accumulative Internet-access duration is70 hours, and the duration of the certain Internet-access is 15 hours,then the charge is 15*1.0=15 yuan due to 70+15<100.

Though the above charging methods meet various charging demands to someextent, they have the following drawbacks:

(1) Lack of generality: a certain charging method is often specific to acertain service. When a new service is provided, it is often unable tomeet the required charging demand in the existing charging system, andthereof the existing charging method has to be modified or new chargingsoftware has to be developed. For example, if the function of“accumulative charging” has to be added to a “duration-based charging”system, and a bonus of 10-hour and free Internet-access duration is for100-hour accumulative Internet-access duration, the existing chargingmethod has to be modified.

(2) Complexity and disaccord of configuration methods: differentcharging methods have different configuration methods. It is requiredfor the subscribers to consider how to convert the charging method intoa data structure that can be processed by the software, whereas it isrequired for the developers to consider how to design the softwarestructure to meet different charging demands, which is one of the majorreasons why a new charging method makes it necessary to modify theexisting software or develop a new software.

(3) Inflexibility of rate configuration methods: for example a chargingdemand is that 1.0 yuan/hour is for the Internet-access, and a bonus of10-hour free duration is for accumulative 100-hour Internet-accessduration. If the accumulative Internet-access duration of the subscriberis 98 hours and the current Internet-access duration is 3 hours, thenthere are two applicable charging methods:

One method is that the charge of the current 3-hour Internet-access is3*1.0=3 yuan, and the bonus of 10-hour free duration will be used duringthe next Internet-access until the free hours are used up, which isreferred to “later use of onus”.

The other method is that for the current 3-hour Internet-access, thecharge is 2*1.0=2 yuan for the 2 hours within the accumulative 100hours, and the rest 1 hour beyond the accumulative 100 hours takes thefree duration of the bonus and thus is not charged. Therefore, thecharge is 2*1.0+1*0=2.0 yuan for the current Internet-access, while theremaining free Internet-access duration is recorded as 9 hours for lateruse, which is referred to as “instant use of bonus.

However, if either method is determined, the charging method cannot bechanged to the other, otherwise the software has to be modified.

Furthermore, the existing charging methods are often specific to somecertain services, that is, a charging method for one service is quitedifferent from that for another. Therefore, if the operator provides anew service, a new charging method has to be customized, which not onlyincreases the cost of the operator but also results in the disorder ofthe charging software in the market. Therefore, in order to meet thedemands of the operators to develop services, it is rather advantageousfor the operators and the subscribers to provide a uniform configurationand calculation method for all the charging methods and to furtherachieve a general charging method in a uniform structure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a general charging method, which can meetall charging demands and provide adequate expansibility.

The general charging method comprises steps of establishing a chargingstrategy and performing the charging based upon the charging strategy.The charging strategy comprises a plurality of priorities each of whichcomprises a plurality of periods of time, and each of the periods oftime corresponds to a type of rate segmentation and is provided aplurality of rate segments in each of which there are a plurality ofrates.

The step of performing the charging comprises:

step 1: searching for the highest priority in the charging strategy;

step 2: searching for a corresponding period of time in the prioritybased upon the time a subscriber uses a service; if found, performingthe charging based upon the rate segments in the period of time andgoing to step 4, otherwise going to step 3;

step 3: judging whether all the priorities have been searched through;if yes, going to step 5, otherwise searching for a next priority andgoing to step 2;

step 4: judging whether the charging has been completed; if completed,going to step 5, otherwise going to step 3; and

step 5: judging whether there is any usage quantity that can't becharged; if yes, recording it and terminating the charging, otherwise,terminating the charging.

With such a structure of general charging strategy, the presentinvention can satisfy various charging demands and provide generalityand adequate expansibility. Meanwhile, the configuration pattern in thegeneral charging method is uniform, that is, there is a similarconfiguration pattern in the same structure regardless of variouscharging demands. Also, the present invention is flexible in some senseand enables subscribers to configure different charging methods asneeded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the charging strategy the chargingmethod according to the embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of the charging method according to theembodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Hereunder the present invention is further detailed in the embodimentwith reference to the accompanied drawings.

First the following concepts are clearly defined in order to facilitatebetter understanding of the charging method according to the embodimentof the present invention.

Resource: it refers to any entity that can be possessed and used by thesubscriber during the charging, such as currency, free duration,accumulative Internet-access duration, accumulative charge, total diskspace, available disk space or the like.

Rate: it refers to a specific way in which a certain resource isaffected. For example, 1.0-yuan currency spent per hour refers to theresource of 1.0-yuan “currency” spent per hour; 0.1-yuan currency spenteach time refers to the resource of 0.1-yuan “currency” spent each time;1-hour increment of the accumulative Internet-access duration per hourrefers to 1-hour increment of the resource of “accumulativeInternet-access duration” per hour; and 1-hour free duration spent perhour refers to the resource of 1-hour “free duration” spent per hour.

Rate segment: It refers to a segmented interval of rate. As describedabove, “0.2 yuan/minute is for the first 3 minutes and 0.1 yuan/minuteis for more than 3 minutes”, wherein “0-3 minutes” is called a ratesegment, and “more than 3 minutes” is also called a rate segment; “1.0yuan/hour is for no more than 100-hour accumulative Internet-accessduration and 0.5 yuan/hour is for more than 100-hour accumulativeInternet-access duration”, wherein “0-100 hours” is called a ratesegment, and “more than 100 hours” is also called a rate segment, and soon.

Rate segments can be divided into two types of resource-accumulativesegmentation and usage-quantity segmentation. The type ofresource-accumulative segmentation refers to segmentation of a certainresource, such as “accumulative Internet-access duration of no more than100 hours” as discussed above, and the rate segments of “0-100 hours”and “more than 100 hours” refer to the segmentation of the resource of“accumulative Internet-access duration”, wherein the charging isperformed through selection of a rate based upon a current value of theresource. The type of usage-quantity segmentation refers to segmentationof the once used quantity, such as “the first 3 minutes” as discussedabove, and the rate segments of “0-3 minutes” and “more than 3 minutes”refer to the segmentation of the duration for this time, wherein thecharging is performed based upon the segmentation of the once usedquantity.

Period of time: it refers to a time interval. For example, 8:00-10:00 isa period of time, and 2002-10-01 to 2003-3-20 is also a period of time.A plurality of rate segments can be defined within a period of time. Thecharging is performed through searching for the corresponding ratesegments within the different periods of time based upon the initialtime the subscriber uses the service.

Priority: it refers to that different periods of time, rate segments andrates are combined to form different levels, each of which has adifferent successive relationship with another in use, and thesubscriber can set the respective priorities high or low at hisdiscretion as required. In actual applications, the process is usuallyperformed according to the sequence from a high priority to a lowpriority. For example, there is a priority 0, and it comprises twoperiods of time, i.e. the period 0 of time and the period 1 of time,wherein the rate segments in the period 0 of time are based upon thetype of the usage-quantity segmentation and comprise two rate segments;and also, the rate segments in the period 1 of time are based upon thetype of the usage-quantity segmentation and comprise two rate segments.The priority can be described as follows:

Priority 0

Period 0 of time: 1^(st)-7^(th) of May

-   -   Rate segment 0: 0-3 minutes        -   Rate 0: 0.2-yuan currency spent per minute    -   Rate segment 1: after 3 minutes        -   Rate 0: 0.1-yuan currency spent per minute

Period 1 of time: other time

-   -   Rate segment 0: 0-3 minutes        -   Rate 0: 0.4-yuan currency spent per minute    -   Rate segment 1: after 3 minutes        -   Rate 0: 0.2-yuan currency spent per minute

Charging strategy: it refers to a charging mechanism for a servicecomprising a combination of a plurality of priorities.

As shown in FIG. 1, the charging strategy comprises a plurality ofpriorities each of which includes a plurality of periods of time,wherein each of the periods of time has a plurality of rate segments,and each of the rate segments has a plurality of rates. One chargingstrategy corresponds to only one service type, and charging demands fordifferent service can be satisfied through the charging strategies witha similar structure. Therefore, the method according to the embodimentof the present invention is general.

FIG. 2 shows the flow of the charging method according to the embodimentof the present invention. First, the process finds out the highestpriority in the charging strategy, and searches for the periods of timein this priority based upon the time the subscriber starts to use theservice. If the time is within a certain period of time in thispriority, the process performs the charging based upon the type of ratesegmentation and the rate segments in this certain period of time;otherwise the process searches for the next priority. If the type ofrate segmentation in the period of time, within which the time is, is“the type of resource-accumulative segmentation”, then the charging isperformed based upon the resource-accumulative segmentation; and if thetype of rate segmentation is “the type of usage-quantity segmentation”,then the charging is performed based upon the usage-quantitysegmentation. If the charging can't be completed for this priority dueto insufficient resource for the subscriber, a configuration error orthe like, the process searches for the next priority and repeats theabove steps, until the charging has been completed or all prioritieshave been searched through. If all priorities have been searched throughand there are still some usage quantities that can't be charged, theprocess records these usage quantities and terminates the charging forthis time.

In the case of the resource-accumulative segmentation, for example, thesegments for a resource r1 are a-b, b-c and c-d, whereas a current valueof the resource r1 is n. The process compares the current value n of theresource r1 with a boundary value on the left and a boundary value onthe right for each segment. That is, the process judges whether it is“the boundary value on the left ≦n< the boundary value on the right” or“the boundary value on the left <n≦ the boundary value on the right”, soas to determine which one of the segment the “n” is within, and thenperforms the charging based upon the rate in that segment. If thecharging process makes the value of the resource r1 go beyond eitherboundary value of the segment, that is, smaller than the boundary valueon the left or larger than the boundary value on the right, then theboundary values are truncated, and the charging for the remaining partis continued in another segment. Finally, the sum of the charges for allrespective segments is the total charge.

In the case of the usage-quantity segmentation, for example, thesegments are a-b, b-c, and c-d, and the currently used quantity is n.The respectively defined segments are covered with the interval of [0,n], and all or some of the covered segment are selected. Then, thecharging is performed based upon the respective rates in the abovesegments. Finally, the sum of the charges for all the respectivesegments is the total charge.

Hereunder the charging method will be described according to theembodiment of the present invention.

Embodiment 1 A Charging Method of the Type of the Resource-Accumulativewith a Bonus

If the charging demand is that “1.0 yuan/hour is for theInternet-access, a bonus of 10-hour free duration is for every 100-houraccumulative Internet-access, and the bonus of the free duration isavailable for Internet-access of the next time”, then the chargingstrategy is first established as follows:

Priority 0

-   -   Period 0 of time: negative infinite (−□)−positive infinite (+□)    -   (The type of usage-quantity segmentation)        -   Rate segment 0: 0 hour −+0            -   Rate 0: 1-hour free Internet-access duration spent per                hour

Priority 1

-   -   Period of time 0: −□−+□    -   (The type of resource-accumulative segmentation with the        resource of accumulative Internet-access charge)        -   Rate segment 0: 0-100 yuan            -   Rate 0: 1.0-yuan currency spent per hour            -   Rate 1: 1.0-yuan increment of the accumulative                Internet-access charge per hour        -   Rate segment 1: more than 100 yuan            -   Rate 0: 10-hour increment of the free Internet-access                duration            -   Rate 1: 100-yuan reduction of the accumulative                Internet-access charge

The charging process is as follows: when the subscriber accesses theInternet for the first time, the value of the resource of “accumulativeInternet-access charge” is 0, and the value of the resource of “freeInternet-access duration” is 0. If the current Internet-access durationof the subscriber is 150 hours, the process first finds out the priority0 and the period 0 of time based upon the type of usage-quantitysegmentation in this priority, and further finds out the rate segmentsand the rates in this period of time. Since the value of the resource“free Internet-access duration” for the current subscriber is 0, thecharging can't be performed, and thus the process searches for the nextpriority. The process finds out the period 0 of time based upon the typeof resource-accumulative segmentation in the priority 1, and furtherfinds out the rate segment 0 in accordance with the current value 0 ofthe resource “laccumulative Internet-access charge” to perform thecharging. When the Internet-access duration reaches 100 hours, 100-yuancurrency is spent, the charge of the accumulative Internet-access countsup to 100 yuan, and thus the remaining 50 hours need to be charged inthe rate segment 1. In the rate segment 1, 10 hours are added to thesubscriber resource of “free Internet-access duration”, and the“accumulative Internet-access charge” is reduced by 100 yuan. Since therate segment in that period of time is not related to theInternet-access duration, the remaining 50 hours have not been chargedyet. In such a case, the value of “accumulative Internet-access charge”is changed to 0, and the process goes on the charging in the ratesegment 0. In the rate segment 0, the above steps will be repeated untilthe charging has been completed. Finally, the resultant charge isdetermined as 150-yuan currency, the accumulative Internet-access chargeis determined as 50 yuan, and the free Internet-access duration isdetermined as 10 hours.

When the subscriber accesses the Internet for the second time and theInternet-access duration is 30 hours, then the charging will be firstperformed in the priority 0. Since the value of the resource “freeInternet-access duration” for the current subscriber is 10, only 10hours will count in that priority, and the remaining 20 hours will becharged in the next priority. The charging process in the priority 1 issimilar to the charging process described above. Therefore, theresultant charge is that 20-yuan currency is spent, 10-hour freeInternet-access duration is spent, and the accumulative Internet-accesscharge is increased by 20 yuan to become 70 yuan.

It shall be appreciated that the above embodiment is merely illustrativeof but not limits the technical solutions of the present invention.Although the present invention has been detailed with reference to thepreferred embodiment, those skilled in the art shall understand thatvarious modifications and the equivalents thereof will be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions, and willbe covered by the appended claims of the present invention.

1. A general charging method comprising steps of establishing a charging strategy and performing the charging based upon the charging strategy, wherein: the charging strategy comprises a plurality of priorities each of which comprises a plurality of periods of time, and each of the periods of time corresponds to a type of rate segmentation and is provided a plurality of rate segments in each of which there are a plurality of rates; the step of performing the charging comprises: step 1: searching for the highest priority in the charging strategy; step 2: searching for a corresponding period of time in the priority based upon the time a subscriber uses a service; if found, performing the charging based upon the rate segments in the period of time and going to step 4, otherwise going to step 3; step 3: judging whether all the priorities have been searched through; if yes, going to step 5, otherwise searching for a next priority and going to step 2; step 4: judging whether the charging has been completed; if completed, going to step 5, otherwise going to step 3; and step 5: judging whether there is any usage quantity that can't be charged; if yes, recording it and terminating the charging, otherwise, terminating the charging.
 2. The charging method of claim 1, wherein the types of rate segmentation comprise the type of resource-accumulative segmentation and the type of usage-quantity segmentation; the type of resource-accumulative segmentation refers to segmentation of a certain resource, wherein the charging is performed through selection of a rate based upon a current value of the resource; and the type of usage-quantity segmentation refers to segmentation of the usage quantity, wherein the charging is performed through selection of a rate based upon the once used quantity.
 3. The charging method of claim 2, wherein the charging based upon the rate segments in step 2 further comprises steps of: if the type of rate segmentation in the period of time, within which the time is, is the type of resource-accumulative segmentation, performing the charging based upon the resource-accumulative segmentation; if the type of rate segmentation is the type of usage-quantity segmentation, performing the charging based upon the usage-quantity segmentation; and if the charging can't be completed in the priority due to insufficient resource for the subscriber or a configuration error, going on the search for the next priority.
 4. The charging method of claim 2, wherein the charging process based upon the type of resource-accumulative segmentation comprises steps of: comparing a current value of the resource with a boundary value on the left and a boundary value on the right for each of the rate segments, i.e., judging whether the current value of the resource is not smaller than the boundary value on the left of the segment and smaller than the boundary value on the right of the segment or the current value of the resource is larger than the boundary value on the left of the segment and not larger than the boundary value on the right of the segment; determining which one of the rate segments the current value of the resource is within; performing the charging based upon the rates in the segment; if the charging process makes the value of the resource go beyond either boundary of the segment, i.e., smaller than the boundary value on the left or larger than the boundary value on the right, truncating the boundary value, and going on the charging for the remaining value of the resource in another segment; and taking the sum of the charges of all the respective segments as a total charge.
 5. The charging method of claim 3, wherein the charging process based upon the type of usage-quantity segmentation comprises steps of: comparing a current value of the resource with a boundary value on the left and a boundary value on the right for each of the rate segments, i.e., judging whether the current value of the resource is not smaller than the boundary value on the left of the segment and smaller than the boundary value on the right of the segment or the current value of the resource is larger than the boundary value on the left of the segment and not larger than the boundary value on the right of the segment; determining which one of the rate segments the current value of the resource is within; performing the charging based upon the rates in the segment; if the charging process makes the value of the resource go beyond either boundary of the segment, i.e., smaller than the boundary value on the left or larger than the boundary value on the right, truncating the boundary value, and going on the charging for the remaining value of the resource in another segment; and taking the sum of the charges of all the respective segments as a total charge.
 6. The charging method of claim 2, wherein the charging process based upon the type of usage-quantity segmentation comprises steps of: covering the respective rate segments based upon a value of the usage quantity; selecting segments which are entirely or partially covered; performing the charging based upon the respective rates in the rate segments; and taking the sum of the charges of all the respective segments as a total charge.
 7. The charging method of claim 3, wherein the charging process based upon the type of usage-quantity segmentation comprises steps of: covering the respective rate segments based upon a value of the usage quantity; selecting segments which are entirely or partially covered; performing the charging based upon the respective rates in the rate segments; and taking the sum of the charges of all the respective segments as a total charge. 